A Demon's Wrath by Alexia Praks

belonged to the demon king. A shivered coursed
down her spine, and she tightened her arms around Lucifer as if for
comfort.
    A whimper escaped Lucifer’s lips, which drew
Cecelia’s attention. His body shook violently as he cried out in
his sleep, tears flowing down his cheeks. She held him tight in her
arms as she soothed him with soft, sweet words. Poor boy, she thought, to be dragged into such a condition. Surely,
his family must be frantic searching for him.
    Eventually, his whimpering stopped and his
body relaxed. Cecelia eased her holding of him and kissed his
forehead.
    “You are a brave little boy,” she said
softly.
    It was about an hour or so later that loud
noises could be heard from upstairs and then the swaying of the
ship came to a stop, telling Cecelia that they had reached land.
She sat up in alertness, her eyes searching about her.
    “Lucifer, I think we have stopped,” she said
softly.
    Lucifer frowned at her for a moment, as if
confused. “What?”
    “Come, we must try and escape before they
come down for us.” She got up and walked toward the locked door.
She wiggled it a few times. When it didn’t budge, she tried to pull
the chains.
    “It won’t work. It’s too strong,” Lucifer
said, rubbing his sleepy eyes. “If only Papa were here, or Uncle
Drake, or even Julius or Uncle Gerick,” he groaned.
    Cecelia’s hands were getting sore. She
slumped down and rested her head against the wall. She was tired
and hungry. She would never escape this, she thought and felt very
depressed.
    “You two!”
    Cecelia bolted upright. A man headed toward
them and then unlocked the chain.
    “Out!” he shouted, “and no funny
business.”
    Cecelia and Lucifer staggered out of the
prison as he opened the door. They were rudely escorted with sword
pointed at their backs up to the top deck.
    Cecelia felt for the first time in days a
gentle breeze caressing her face as they came up. She breathed in
the fresh, open air and stared wide-eyed at the sight before her.
The beach was long and wide, with white sand that stretched to the
endless horizon. Behind the beach was a jungle of lush tall trees
and exotic flowers of unimaginable sizes, shapes, and colors.
    She searched around her and realized that
not one man was in sight except for the one escorting them.
    “Where are your men?” she asked
curiously.
    “No questions! Start moving!” he snapped,
shoving his sword against her back. “There!” he nodded toward the
beach.
    Cecelia went to the floorboard and walked
down the ship, Lucifer following behind her.
    “That way!” he said.
    The sands were deep and porous against her
boots. She found it more tiring than walking on hard earth. Once
they had reached the jungles, she found herself stumbling over
vines and dead wood many times. Lucifer, on the other hand, seemed
to know his way around. When she fell, he helped her up. He didn’t
at all seem to be very tired as she was, which she thought a bit
odd for a five-year-old boy.
    It wasn’t long when they came to a small
camp. The men were there with their tents and weapons. They were
sitting around a fire with some unfortunate odd-looking bird—it had
the head of a bird and the body of a cat—that had been stripped to
the skin and now was roasting upon the pit of a fire.
    “Go, sit there!” The man behind them shoved
her.
    Without a word, Cecelia went to sit by a
tree. Lucifer made himself comfortable beside her.
    “I’m hungry. Won’t they give us some food?”
Lucifer groaned, looking at her with his sky-blue eyes large.
    “I don’t think so,” she said, her mouth
watering at the sight of the odd bird. The skin was turning,
glistening and golden brown, and its fat was dropping from its
skin, landing on the spiting fire.
    She turned away, ignoring her hunger and
diverting her thoughts to finding a route of escape. A man came to
her then and tied her hands and feet. He did the same to
Lucifer.
    “To make sure you two stay put,” he